AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) said Monday it has launched ultra-fast Internet service — also known as gigabit Internet — in Atlanta.

Dubbed GigaPower, the service will be available to subscribers of AT&T’s U-verse television service in Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Decatur and Newnan.

With its launch Monday, AT&T beat out Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), which has announced plans to light up metro Atlanta with gigabit Internet. Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) has also said it is expanding gibgabit Internet service to business customers in metro Atlanta.

AT&T’s GigaPower will offer Internet speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second. Plans start at $120/month for 1Gbps and $90/month for 100Mbps.

Faster Internet connectivity is considered an economic development tool for cities hoping to attract fast-growing technology, financial and medical services companies that consume large amounts of data.

Google said it will deliver gigabit Internet in nine area cities — Atlanta, Avondale Estates, Brookhaven, College Park, Decatur, East Point, Hapeville, Sandy Springs and Smyrna. The company, however, won’t say when its Atlanta-area service will launch.

In December, Comcast said it will expand gigabit Internet service for businesses in Metro Atlanta. Comcast will roll out broadband service to businesses in midtown Atlanta, Vinings, Norcross, Duluth and Alpharetta. The company already offers the service in Roswell, Smyrna and parts of Atlanta and Alpharetta.

The market for gigabit Internet is hardly limited to data-hogging businesses. In an age of the “Internet of things,” where refrigerators, televisions and mobile devices are web-enabled, demand for super-fast Internet connections for consumers is going from nice-to-have, to must-have.